Gubbio
Brother wolf,
Please do not kill our livestock
And we will feed you
From our doorsteps
The wolf complied
And was, in fact, much loved
Before he died
When he was mourned and remembered,
Bits of glory
And this story
C L Couch
From “The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi,” 1476
https://www.fisheaters.com/animals6.html
The Parable of Nathan
(2 Samuel 12)
David was the king
Nathan in the court
Prophet, one of what had once been
The ruling group
Nathan told David about
Someone rich with money, lands,
And livestock
Who stole the one sheep of
His neighborhood to have
A feast of mutton
Who is this thief and murderer of
Law and goodness,
The monarch demanded
Nathan taught
He prophesied a lesson
Timeless truth to borrowed power
(Which is all the power there
Is)
This thief of God’s provision
Nathan said to David,
It is you
C L Couch
Fascinatin’ Rhythm
My room is like the cenobite’s cell
Because I must stay here
Though it is the hermit’s joy
Less and less to move
I want my car outside the door—nothing
Much, it simply gets me there
That’s the promise I want:
That I can leave, find faster air outside
Enjoy a slight change in dimension
A single shift in the horizon of my own events
Only enough for this, yes, this is how well I
Want to be
Today
C L Couch
(title borrowed from the Gershwins, Ella Fitzgerald, Eleanor Powell)
Borne in the USA
(Thanksgiving Day 2017)
Those who can, eat too much
Those who can’t are often fed as well
There are parades that
Honor stores and industry celebrities
Though most of our parades are
Done that way
A magazine editor wrote
President Lincoln
Suggesting a holiday—
This was during the war when a respite
And a time for thanks would welcome relief
To all the tragedy
FDR secured it for the nation
We watch football, formed when
Athletes from Canada comprised a new event
With Harvard students
Canada has Thanksgiving Day at a different
Time
I hope other cultures have it, too
Maybe you will tell me, and
In the mean time I’ll say thank you to you, mindful of
Respective situations
For you give me a reason
C L Couch
(photograph from Flickr)
Do You See Me Now?
I was a cat in Moscow
A photographer liked me, I guess
My manner, my similarity,
My distinctness of
Western cats
So at the fair in 1963, he (it was a he)
Clicked away
(Like my paws on pavement)
And I am here for you
Now
Meow
C L Couch
Photo declassified from ’63 Moscow Fair.
first World Day of the Poor
(day late, no dollar short)
Francis says to us
Blessed are the hands that reach beyond
Every hindrance of creed or culture
That in a profane way keeps us
Apart
The physician quotes
Blessed are the poor—
In spirit or
In flesh—
For yours is the realm of God
In this love is not a democracy but
Obeisance to a royal decree
From the one who
Rules perfectly with justice
And unerring care
This is not the kind of mystery that’s hard
To resolve
Who made the poor? we did, and
We keep ours down in a fallen world
That drives them, drives us
Deeper
The answer to all questions is, Who cares?
Acceptable question this time to
A question
To those in front of us, a catechesis, a
Secular investigation doesn’t
Serve;
The poor are here,
A monarchy for them and us;
That’s far off
The open hand is empty, and sometimes it’s
Clenched in pain
The challenge in the giving is
Courage to unclose, to press into the soul
The bravery, tenacity
The food and water
And more
And better
For the living
And the dying
In the right time for each
For the change
When all are blessed
C L Couch
first World Day of the Poor
We cannot remain passive. Blessed are the hands that reach beyond every barrier of culture, religion, and nationality, and pour the balm of consolation over the wounds of humanity. Blessed are the open hands that ask nothing in exchange, with no “ifs” or “buts” or “maybes”: they are hands that call down God’s blessing upon their brothers and sisters.
Pope Francis (who proclaimed the day)
First World Day of the Poor, 2017: Let us love, not with words but with …
Hospitalism
My sister tells me it’s a man thing
Not wanting to go to the
Hospital
It’s certainly true that I do not want to go
And that I thought this
A healthy inclination
Now I wonder if for those women who
Care so much
(In quantity and quality) if there is a
Kind of comfort there
Someone else to provide, to
Decide,
To break the news
And deal with it first
C L Couch
Armistice
A hundred years ago
Europe was ablaze
An awful fire, open-pit
Like southern
Soldier picking
North Africa, western Asia
Cut into with blunt
European, Turkish knives
As if
The lands were
Burnt meat
Now the USA is adding
Fuel to the fire
My grandfather a soldier-stick
Serving with muscle and courage
And fear
(I’m guessing about the fear, for I never
Saw if in him)
Then all elevens,
And it’s over: fire tamped
Ashes rising, setting on new ground
Of anger and reparation
Peace rendered ironic
Buckets of grave dirt
Thrown against
Walls of retribution
Against which
New shadows will rise
C L Couch
(National Geographic Society)
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